The Lad Who Cried Wolf

by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

Moshe was born into difficult times. Pharoh had issued a decree to kill all the baby boys. Upon birth, Moshe had to be hidden so that the Egyptian search parties wouldn’t find and kill him. After awhile, his parents felt that they could no longer hide him in their house. They decided to hide Moshe in a basket in the water at the bank of the Nile. It was among the reeds at the Nile that Moshe was discovered.

The Torah relates that the daughter of Pharoh noticed him; “and behold a lad was crying.” She took the infant and raised him as her own. As a result, Moshe was rescued despite the decree against the Jewish boys.

The commentaries wonder why, upon his being discovered, the Torah expresses Moshe’s cries with the phrase, “Behold a Na’ar / a lad was crying.” Wouldn’t it have been more correct to say, “Behold an infant was crying.”

The medrash explains that the statement “Behold a lad was crying,” does not refer to the baby. The “lad” refers to Ahron, Moshe’s older brother.

Although the family could no longer keep the baby in their home and they placed him among the reeds at the bank of the river, both Miriam and Ahron remained nearby to keep their eyes on Moshe. When Ahron realized that the baby had been discovered by the daughter of the evil monarch, he began to cry as he thought that all was lost.

That Moshe was discovered by the daughter of Pharoh actually demonstrates G-d’s majestic way of running His world. G-d often chooses the most unlikely means of salvation to teach us that all different methods of salvation are open to Him. What better way is there to illustrate His supreme control than to save the child by having Pharoh’s daughter raise the child as her own?

When Ahron saw that Pharoh’s daughter had found his brother, he most certainly had reason to cry. In his perception, it was the sign of catastrophe. But, in reality the discovery was orchestrated by G-d to save the child who would later redeem the Jewish people.

The story is told of a great Rabbi whose son was chosen to succeed him. As the father lay on his deathbed, he said to his son, “Don’t worry my child. Even after my passing, I will continue to look out for the people. If a bad decree should threaten the community, I will join you from Heaven with my prayers.”

After the father passed on, it wasn’t long before the first crisis struck. The governor levied a very heavy tax upon certain businesses, so that many Jews would have to close their shops and move elsewhere. The community sent delegates to have the legislation modified. They united in major prayer gatherings. Yet, despite their efforts the decree remained in force.

The young, new leader of the community was confused. His father had promised to join them in prayer. “Why was it,” the son wondered, “that during his lifetime, father was able to protect the community from such decrees, but now that he has passed on we are so vulnerable?”

That night, the father came to his son in a dream. He said, “My son, I promised to intercede whenever a bad decree is declared against our community. I did not go back on that promise. But, the decree that you are experiencing isn’t a bad one. To you, on earth it seems bad. When I was living, I too would have prayed for it to be removed. But, from my new vantage point in heaven, I can see that it is an act of Divine kindness. (It will force the community to move on before the pogroms break out.) To you it seems bad, so pray. But I cannot join you, because it is revealed to me that it isn’t bad at all.”

Over the years, the Jew has maintained a motto, “This too is for the best.” We are supposed to pray for salvation according to the way we perceive things. At the same time, we are expected to realize that we aren’t privy to the Divine Master Plan. Sometimes seemingly  bad events are part of the salvation itself.

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